Week 17, from inside the machine

Factors working against me: I intended to make a tiny top hat using a spool and a scrap of faux leather. However, when I had sewn this far (see picture). . .

. . . I realized that the edges weren't going to meet.  I really should have figured it out earlier, since I'd been stretching the "leather" to get it to sit right on the spool. So I decided that wasn't going to work and tried glue. Which didn't work either. At this point I was frustrated and discouraged, and I knew I had at most two hours left to work before my dad came home and wanted to watch Buffy with me. So rather than messing about with different types of glue I decided to make something else entirely.

Factors working for me: Right then, my mom called, and we discussed ideas for quick Steampunk Things while I dug though my crafting kit. We agreed jewelry was fastest and easiest (she suggested more cookies, but I never bought replacement ingredients, so that would have been an adventure in improvisation and inedibility). I wanted to do something a little different than what I'd made before, and while considering my options (earrings, necklace, pin. . . not a ring because I didn't have my ring blanks) I came across some chains and remembered a discussion we had at one of the Sacramento Steampunk Society meetings about necklaces with antique keys for pendants.
Results: I knew I wanted to do something chain-heavy, and I didn't want to bite the style of the person who gave me the idea. As I was choosing chains I considered that most of the multi-chain necklaces I've seen have a similar look to them. In order to avoid that I decided to make a choker. Then I attached the key asymmetrically. It still needed something, so I used the leftover bits of chain to attach some pieces from a clock I took apart, and the very last of the chain I used to support the key at its original angle, despite the rest of the stuff weighing it down.

I've worn it almost constantly since its completion, so I think this is one I'm going to keep.

Week 16, not very green

Factors working against me:  It seems to be becoming a habit to procrastinate until the end of the week, so I'm not even going to bother trying to come up with excuses.
Factors working for me:  At Thursday's meeting of the Sacramento Steampunk Society, Admiral Macabre gave a demonstration of Sophisticated Finishes' Metallic Surfacers and Antiquing Solutions.  He left behind a nearly empty bottle of each, with which I decided to experiment.  Also, I found a bit of ribbon in the bottom of my messenger bag.
Results:  I looked up instructions online for how to make a ribbon rose.
Here is the ribbon I used:

Here I have painted it with the copper paint:

 

I then waited three minutes before folding it, only I decided to make myself a sandwich and it ended up being more than three minutes, and then the folding took longer than I thought it would too, so it was more than fifteen minutes before I applied the antiquing solution.  Here is the folded rose:

And here is what it looked like when I checked on it several hours later:

More like rusty mud than verdegrised (is that a word? I suspect not) copper.  It looks much greener in the picture than it did in real life. A lot of the ribbon color is showing as well. So I scraped the inside of the bottle with a Q-tip in order to give it another coat. This went on pretty thick:

I made sure this time to put the antiquing solution on well within fifteen minutes, and lots of it.

I got some pretty nice patina effects on the Q-tip and paper towel I used to apply the solutions, but the rose still looks more rusted than anything. That works too, though, I guess. Now I just have to find (or make) something to attach it to.

Week 15 onscreen!

Factors working against me: Sunday, as I mentioned before, was the Thrift Shopping Expedition, so I wasn't able to get much work done that day.  I went to my mom's house afterward because she was about to leave town for two weeks and wanted to see me beforehand.  Thursday was our trip to the Crocker, so Wednesday night I had to get back in town so I'd have time to prepare.
Factors working for me: I found some beads at Michaels (where we met up for the Expedition) that were perfect for the jewelry I wanted to make for one of my outfits for the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition.
Results: Normally my rule is if I wouldn't put the tag "steampunk" on an item when listing it on etsy, it isn't steampunk enough to count as my Steampunk Thing of the Week.  However, these were made specifically for a steampunk convention, so I'm making an exception.

I was going for the look of old, cracked chandelier crystals.  I'm not entirely sure they aren't too heavy for me, though.

Week 14, sweet cuisine

Factors working against me: Again, it's been too long since the actual events for me to remember the details.  All I know is I put things off until Saturday night.  Again.
Factors working for me: My father reminded me as I was about to go to bed that the next day was our Steampunk Thrift Shopping Expedition, for which I had planned to make cookies.  So I scrambled to find ingredients and had to make some substitutions.
Results: Ta-da!  An entire batch of vaguely gear-shaped cookies.

I don't think all of them were done by midnight, but enough to count.